Butter Chicken — Two-Marinade System and Tomato Reduction (मुर्ग मखनी)

Moti Mahal restaurant, Daryaganj, Delhi, 1947–1948; Kundan Lal Gujral credited with the invention; the recipe codified by the restaurant's subsequent generations and adapted into Punjab-style restaurant cooking globally

Murgh makhani (मुर्ग मखनी, butter chicken) is the accidental creation of Kundan Lal Gujral at Moti Mahal, Delhi — leftover tandoori chicken repurposed in a tomato-butter-cream sauce. The modern restaurant version requires a two-marinade system: first marinade (lemon juice, salt, red chilli — 30 minutes, tenderises and adds acid), second marinade (yoghurt, spices, Kashmiri chilli — 24 hours, flavours and protects during high-heat cooking). The sauce is separately developed: tomatoes roasted or charred, then passed through a sieve for smoothness, cooked down with butter and cream. The dish's defining character — mild, rich, slightly sweet-tangy — comes from the tomato sauce's cooking time and the Kashmiri chilli's colour without heat.

Butter chicken's flavour — mild tomato sweetness, cream richness, charred tandoori chicken, and fenugreek fragrance — was specifically calibrated to appeal to those unfamiliar with spicy Indian food, making it the world's most successful introduction to Indian restaurant cooking. Its mildness is a deliberate design feature, not a compromise.